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Racial Stereotypes and their Effects
Racial Stereotypes and their Effects
The model minority stereotype essay
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How and why does the Model Minority Myth continue to be believed and perpetuated in today’s American society? How do Asian Americans navigate living under the Myth and what are the consequences and effects of those navigations, especially regarding self-identity and mental health? How does the Myth affect the different ethnicities that are grouped under the umbrella term of “Asian”? The Myth was started in the late 1960’s with multiple newspaper articles published about the success of Asian Americans and how that success could be attributed to Asian cultural values. Due to this success, Asian Americans were generalized as a successful minority that did not face discrimination or racism since the Myth was characterized as positive and not hurtful. The Myth has continued to exist and be prevalent today, even with the scholarly understanding that it is indeed a myth. In my paper, I will claim that in order to navigate living under …show more content…
I recognized how people who internalize it and use it to their advantage are not necessarily giving their support to the Myth; they are doing so as a way to work around the discrimination that the Myth causes. This leads to a further research question of what should Asian Americans do to lead to the end of the Myth while being able to still counter the discrimination that they face as a result of the Myth? As I am arguing for Asian Americans not to use the Myth to their advantage, to strengthen that argument, I will have to conduct further research to find some suggestions for what Asian Americans can do to help end the Myth while ensuring that they are still able to succeed under the discrimination they face. The problem is a complex one that cannot be solved quickly but the consequences continue to exist so necessary action must be taken as soon as
Dr. Stanley Sue is an Asian American clinical psychologist whose research focus is on Asian American minorities. Dr. Sue was born in Portland, Oregon and was the third of six children to his Chinese immigrant parents. As a child “his first career ambition was to repair televisions, but soon he got bored with shop classes. Then, he developed great fascination with psychotherapy and the idea of helping emotionally disturbed individuals (Rockwell 2001).” Dr. Sue recalled, “I told my parents that I wanted to become a clinical psychologist, not fully knowing what a clinical psychologists did (Rockwell 2001).” He also remembered what his father said and thought after making this declaration: “My father, who was born in China, said, ‘What is that?’ He couldn’t believe that people would pay me to listen to their problems – indeed, he wondered if I could make a decent living (Rockwell 2001).”
In this article, Eric Liu presents his life as a native immigrant to an Asian American individual. He shares his experience through his reflection of ideas and emotions. Along with his story, it relates to the ideas of people’s journey from adolescence to adulthood. Eric’s inspirational experience is directed towards minority groups who try to adapt to the American culture and lifestyle. His parents emigrated from China to America, before he was born which he later became exposed to the freedom and diverse society. This results in beneficial effects for his individuality, career opportunities, and lifestyle. Although his parents have lived in a different culture than him, his life in America has made him assimilated into the American society
Asian Americans, often referred to as the “model minority” are also affected negatively. In Keith Osajima’s article “Internalized Oppression and the Culture of Silence”, he focuses on how Asian Americans deal with their form of oppression. He noticed that many of them “were reluctant to take the risk of thinking critically about the inequities in society” (Osajima). He states that the typical quiet, well-behaved Asian American deals with what Erica Sherover Marcuse calls “internalized oppression”. Osajima asserts that internalized oppression “[leads] the oppressed people to believe that the solution to their problem is to become like or to be accepted by those in the dominant group” (Osajima). Therefore, Asian Americans have dealt with their oppression by: being good students, going to college, and getting well-paying jobs, like their white counterparts. This is where the phrase “model minority” comes in for Asian Americans. Because so many Asian Americans excel in school, the pressure to perform well is immense. Southeast Asians in particular “are not able to conform to this unrealistic expectation and in fact, have the highest high school dropout rates in the country” (C.N. Le). Osajima sums his argument up perfectly with his final sentence when he states that “the educational process can do more than reproduce a compliant work force, but can be a vehicle for liberation.” (Osajima). His strategies for allowing his classroom to serve as a site for liberation included cutting down on lecture time, encouraging students to take risks with their thinking, and assuring his students that their contributions would be respected and not be looked down upon. With encouragement and the use of these techniques, Asian Americans can begin to think critically about their role in society
In Takaki’s The Harmful Myth of Asian Superiority, he clearly and effectively states that the belief that Asians Americans are a “model minority” is not true and racist. This fallacy has caused harm to this culture and is a negative comparison with other minorities. His purpose was to inform the reader that even “good” stereotypes can damage ethnicities. Takaki’s essay was effective, however he lacked a counter argument which made him seem biased.
This desire to be part of a group whom they resemble is extremely important to Korean adoptees. The term “racially invisible” is the outcome when Korean adoptees are constantly discouraged from identifying racially, and rewarded for assimilation into communities. Another common stereo type suggests the idea that Asians don’t experience racism. Model minority puts out the idea that all Asians are successful, naturally smart, and all play the violin. Since people assume that Asians are treated very well, they believe that there is no way that they could experience racism. These stereotypes hinder Asians and make them feel extremely invisible in our
Before I read this article, I thought Asians were never suspected to any type of racism, that they are doing great economically. That made me to realize that racism is everywhere and it affects every ethnic group. It made me remember, I was subjected to racial microaggressions. In high school, someone told me that I am Asian and I suck at reading comprehension than everybody else. Because of the stereotype, it leads me to falsely believe that I would do bad on the critical reading section of the SAT and I dreaded that section the most. Although if I was weak in reading comprehension, it does not mean I would not do well. I will just need to practice more on that. They thought that I couldn’t get better at it. Also, when they said that, they took away some of my self-confidence about success. That was a racial microaggression because they didn’t know that I will be offended when they said that. Also, I remember watching the news about some strict Asian American parent that harshly yelled at the son for getting an A- on his test when they expected an A+ instead. I would have accepted the A- and I would be proud of him, but his parents are disappointed instead. That reminds me that Asian Americans are being pressured to achieve. After reading Liu’s article, I would have reacted the same way as she did when the hunger strike for the Asian American Studies happened at UCLA. I would
The Asian-Americans in poverty are also pressured in meeting the standards of the model minority stereotype. The positive stereotype justifies the discrimination confronted by this minority group.
The model minority thesis is shown to be one of the main connections between American social policy and Asian Pacific Americans. The model minority thesis came to be around 1965 and this was during the time of the Civil Rights Movement where people tried to stop and take out institutional racial discrimination that was taking place in the United States. During the period of the 1960s-1907s, ethnic groups were feeling that they were being racially discriminated such as African Americans, Latinos, etc. Asian Americans were also part of the groups being discriminated but they were making it out successful during this time of discrimination. People who didn’t really care about racism saw that America’s economic and political institutions were fair used the model minority thesis to help support their claims.
Takaki, R. (1999). The myth of the “model minority.” In D. M. Newman (Ed.), Sociology:
Asians have battled against political, social, and economic dynamics that continue to redefine their identities and livelihood. In particular, systematic migration, indenture, and racism have created disparities across multiple domains. These systems contributed to the reshaping of Asian identity, which in turn impacted their sense of belonging. Three different contexts discussed in class provide a framework for understanding how acts of agency reframed their identity and facilitated or inhibited inclusion and equality.
Racism is often considered a thing of the past, with its manifestation rarely being acknowledged in the United States today. Race: The Power of an Illusion, is a documentary that addresses the legacy of racism through its significance in the past, and its presence in society today. To understand racism, it is vital to understand the concept of race. Race is a social invention, not a biological truth. This can be observed through the varying classifications of race in different cultures and time periods. For instance, in the United States, race has long been distinguished by skin color. In nineteenth century China, however, race was determined by the amount of body hair an individual had. Someone with a large amount of facial hair, for example,
Despite Asian Americans extended history of discrimination in the U.S., on average they have surpassed or reached parity with their white counterparts in multiple socioeconomic indicators such as income, educational attainment, and net worth. Due to this success, Asian Americans have been labeled the “model minority”, attributing their achievements to cultural values such as hard work, devotion to education, and discipline. The model minority argument is an ideological argument framed by cultural racism to discredit the achievements of Asian Americans in the U.S. while simultaneously targeting the cultural values of other minorities in the U.S. This argument is used to reinforce the racial structure in the U.S. by granting fair-skinned Asian
This feeling of not being accepted into the society due to simply coming from a different culture, causes Asians to group and unite, which could potentially be powerful and positive, but more often confirms monoculture idea in minds of Americans. A student complains that non-Asians all consider the Asians “chink- one thing” and that “they [cannot] identify and separate” the Asians, which leads to Asians receiving “equal discrimination”. This discomfort Asians feel around non-Asians show that the Asian youth feels silenced and weaker because they are grouped as a single country, proving that the stereotypes in the TV and the movie industry have detrimental
Many of the qualities that make Asian Americans the “model minority” are also used to discriminate against them and other minorities as well. Traditionally Asian Americans are viewed as enterprising, industrious and intelligent. Many other minorities compare unfavorably to this traits, thus are perceived as “inferior” by the dominant group. On the other hand, the dominant group also feels threatened by this perceived superiority and tries to relegate Asian Americans to lower positions in the managerial ladder. This is considered the “bamboo ceiling,” because it prevents well educated and capable Asian Americans from reaching their full employment potential. The discrimination against Asian minorities is not limited to the work place, though. There have been many incidents of reported racial violence against this group, mainly instigated by outdated and ignorant anti-Asian sentiments. It is worth noting that the discrimination suffered by Asian Americans has been somewhat lessened, due in part to their outstanding achievements and their ability to avoid said
For those Asian Americans who make known their discontent with the injustice and discrimination that they feel, in the white culture, this translates to attacking American superiority and initiating insecurities. For Mura, a writer who dared to question why an Asian American was not allowed to audition for an Asian American role, his punishment was “the ostracism and demonization that ensued. In essence, he was shunned” (Hongo 4) by the white people who could not believe that he would attack their superior American ways. According to writers such as Frank Chin and the rest of the “Aiiieeeee!” group, the Americans have dictated Asian culture and created a perception as “nice and quiet” (Chin 1972, 18), “mama’s boys and crybabies” without “a man in all [the] males.” (Chin 1972, 24). This has become the belief of the proceeding generations of Asian Americans and therefore manifested these stereotypes.